Prevalence of Abnormal Body Posture among Chinese Children and Adolescents: A Large Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Evidence showed that the poor body posture in adulthood is often formed from the childhood, andindividuals with severe abnormal body posture may associated with the progress to scoliosis. However, there is stilla lack of epidemiological evidence in the prevalence of adolescent abnormal body posture compared to scoliosis. Toestimate the prevalence of abnormal body posture among children and adolescents, and to describe theepidemiological findings according to the demographic characteristics.Method: This is a population-based, cross-sectional study of school screening program in south China. Wesample a large representative dataset comprising data collected from 1th to 12th graders using a multistage,stratified-cluster, random-sampling method. Our sample consisted of 158,584 children and adolescents who werescreened by visual inspection of clinical signs, the forward-bending test, and the measurement of angle of trunkrotation (ATR). The demographic characteristic and results of screening tests were collected and analyzed.Results: A total of 158,584 school students were screened, with a boys-to-girls ratio of 1.2:1. The overallprevalence of abnormal body posture in Chinese children and adolescents was 65.3% (95% CI: 65.0%-65.5%),around 3.7% (95% CI: 3.6%-3.8%) of children and adolescents were referred for radiography. According to genderand age, girls had a higher prevalence of abnormal body posture than boys (76.0% vs. 56.6%, χ2=6519.15,P 15 years old had a higher prevalence of abnormal body posture than students<10 years old (64.8% and 71.1% vs. 41.3%, χ2=681.18, P<0.001).Conclusion: Our findings showed that Chinese children and adolescents have a significantly higher prevalenceof abnormal body posture, girls and older students may be an especially high-risk group. Prevention and interventionprograms targeting for school students should be established to improve their physical health.